Solid‐Phase Synthesis of Peptide Libraries Combining α‐Amino Acids with Inorganic and Organic Chromophores

The synthesis of two series of peptidic chains composed of bis(terpyridine)ruthenium(II) acceptor units and organic chromophores (coumarin, naphthalene, anthracene, fluorene) by stepwise solid‐phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) techniques is described. The first series of dyads comprises directly amide linked chromophores, while the second one possesses a glycine spacer between the two chromophores. All dyads were studied by UV/Vis and NMR spectroscopy, steady‐state luminescence, luminescence decay and electrochemistry, as well as by DFT calculations. The results of these studies indicate weak electronic coupling of the chromophores in the ground state. Absorpion spectra of all dyads are dominated by metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (MLCT) bands around 500 nm. The bichromophoric systems, especially with coumarin as organic chromophore, display additional strong absorptions in the visible spectral region. All complexes are luminescent at room temperature (3MLCT). Efficient quenching of the fluorescence of the organic chromophore by the attached ruthenium complex is observed in all dyads. Excitation spectra indicate energy transfer from the organic dye to the ruthenium chromophore. It works for metals too! Solid‐phase peptide synthesis procedures were employed for the selective stepwise assembly of bis(terpyridine)ruthenium(II) chromophores and organic antennas to yield peptidic dyads. Electrochemistry, absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations suggest electronically isolated chromophores in the ground state, while energy‐transfer processes from the organic dye to the ruthenium complex occur in the excited dyads (see scheme).